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(back pictures in next post)

Day 1
Weight: 123.6
Body Fat: (didn't have a scale that measured this yet)
Waist: 31"
R. Thigh: 19.5"
L. Thigh: 19.2"
R. Arm: 10.75"
L. Arm: 10.25"

Day 30
Weight: 122.8 (-.8)
Body Fat: 26%
Waist: 30" (-1)
R. Thigh: 18.5" (-1)
L. Thigh: 18.5" (-.7)
R. Arm: 10.5" (+.25)
L. Arm: 10.25" (+0)


Edited: Day 60
Numbers so close to previous ones not even going to bother to report them


Don't see much difference in the picture or numbers. It's a little discouraging because I haven't missed a work-out and have been eating completely clean, following the plan, not a single cheat w/ junk.

I know it's not all about weight - but I haven't even lost a full pound! And I had been trying to stay away from the scale, hoping I'd see better numbers with measurements, but even that was a let down.

Butttt, I guess if we saw what we wanted in 30 days, it'd be just a 30 day program! All I know, though, is I better see much better changes than this at day 60 & 90 -- because if not, it's simply not worth the effort required.

I see more muscle definition in your arms and upper body and your waist is definitely smaller. I am the same way you are though, I'm on day 45 and feel like I haven't changed much. I'm sure that I'm my own worst critic though, and I'm doing my best to be patient and wait out the full 90 days to see major results!

Congratulations on bringing it and keep pushing play. You're doing great!

I agree with Megan... we are our own worst critics. I am on day 42 tomorrow and while I've seen some changes, I don't see what everyone else sees. I think we are built to notice what we consider our flaws instead of the progress. Keep bringing it and pushing play... it will pay off in the end!

There is some difference. However, if you aren't happy with the weight loss and definition, try subtracting 100-200 calories from your diet. I've lost 7lbs in 30 days and I'm eating 1650 calories a day as opposed to the 1800 they recommend. If you aren't counting the calories per serving on the package of food you are eating, then you might be consuming too much food.

Sum is correct. I started out losing an inch a week on the fat shredder meal plan but when I moved into phase 2, that halted. I had to go back to the fat shredder diet. So.. the "Modify, Modify, Modify" also applies to the diet too. You have to try different things to figure out what works for you. They have calorie counters online all over the place and there are some folks that have posted the ones they use here on the forum. Are you having any energy level issues to this point? Once you try cutting back on the calories, take note of your energy level. I'm back on the fat shredder plan but if I find I start bonking, I will have to increase the carbs a little at a time.

I started out at 140 and gained 5lb during 90 days, but went down at least 1 size, and 4% body fat. If you are not far from your goal, you will be adding muscle as you are burning fat, and the numbers on the scale will not reflect that. So if you lost .8, that's better than I ever did! How are your clothes fitting, that's the real yardstick at this point.

I'm not sure I can take away more calories without starting to suffer during workouts and being able to focus at work.

Here's a typical day for me (in tail end of Phase 2):

Morning
* Special K Strawberries & Skim Milk
* OJ during workout sometimes (helps me if i'm bonking, or if my energy is just kind of dragging it helps me get a better workout)
* Skim milk and Ovaltine - it's my "Recovery Drink" and also helps curb my appetite between breakfast and lunch

Afternoon
* Banana or low-fat yogurt
* 1 Cliff Builders Bar (spread out through the entire afternoon)
* Salad: Chicken, craisans, onion, walnut, skim mozarella, balsamic dressing

Evening
* Salmon & Green beans
* Decaf coffee (splenda & non-dairy creamer)
* Special K Strawberries & Skim Milk (earlier on I was having a protein shake here instead of the cereal, but I just got so sick of them)
* Tea (skim milk & 1tbsp sugar)


What do you guys think?

I think the answer for me may be more cardio. I've started adding the cardio routine at night every other workout or so -- except I only do a few of the yoga moves at the start of that to get warmed up -- then I skip to the actual cardio part.

I'm at about day 55, starting to loose motivation as I look towards the last phase. Would appreciate any tips! It was much easier to follow the nutrition plan early on when I was excited and pumped about the results I would see. But as time as moved on, been getting discouraged and then there's not as much motivation to stick to the plan. Don't get me wrong, I'm still staying completely away from the junk and am eating healthy in what I think are good proportions -- I've just noticed myself getting slack about making sure I only have 2 carbs a day and making sure I get enough protein.

Your diet looks pretty good to me. You may want to punch it into one of the calorie counters just to see what it's all worth, just in case.

From your pictures 3 weeks ago you have progress so there's no reason to be discouraged. The problem is you see your body every day and don't notice the changes quite as well as pictures show you. You may not be losing weight, but you're likely gaining muscle and losing fat evenly (weight-wise).

Just keep reassuring yourself with small things you notice like clothes getting a little looser, more energy throughout the day, and my personal best is I can touch the floor for the first time while standing straight up.

My personal motivation (not to be taken the wrong way) is the guy on the Plyo disk that's missing a leg. I just tell myself if he's able to do it, I can do it and it helps push me through the tough days.

Maybe you should move the focus on improvements in your performance for the last phase. How much more weight can you lift for each exercise? How many more pullups/chinups can you do (even if assisted)?

Don't cut calories too much. You might want to find a cereal that is not as sweet, that may help out.

Don't artificial sweetners slow down your metabolism? I'm pretty sure that is part of the reason that people on low fat, low calorie diets who drink diet coke lose 1/4 of the weight of people who don't drink diet sodas.

Where are your snacks? Are you portioning, or just pouring a bowl of ceral? My idea of a bowl of ceral is WAY more than what the portion on the side of the box says to eat.

And finally, how tall are you? You don't look fat in your pics.

You could try cutting out artifical sweetners as they have been shown to slow down your metabolism in scientific studies. Try adding in foods that are higher in protein. For instance, how many grams of protein are in your ceral? Is there something else you can eat that might have more?

Honestly, you don't look fat. How tall are you? You might be at the end of the lowest weight you can reach. I've holding steady between 121-123lbs. I haven't lost any weight since week 2.

Since you are female, it is harder to cut fat and honestly, you can only go so low before it gets dangerous. I feel like I've made zero improvement in the midsection during the 2nd phase. Some days, I think I look fatter than before actually! However, I feel more muscle, my back hurts less and I can complete the entire ad ripper video.

Veerukka has good advice here. Focus on how much more weight you can lift or how many more reps you can do. Try doing the exercise for the entire time on the video instead of completing your reps and moving on to the next exercise.

i see a remarkable difference in your upper arms. (especially where your armpits mean your shoulders area)
Also, check out your wrists while you are flexing. The long lean line of your arm muscle is also much longer. I can also see a difference in your lower legs.
Your waist is always smaller. You can tell it most in where your hips area touch the side of the door in #1 and #2.
You're doing great. Don't quit.
After day 90, Im sure youw ill look back on this and wonder why you even second guessed it.

Great advice from everyone and I agree 110%. I too didn't see that much difference between days 1 & 30, but when I posted here, I got some feedback that made me realize that I was doing great. Not long ago, I was getting discouraged about my abs...I thought that they should be slimmer than they were being 1/2 way through Phase 2. I was my own worst judge, and my husband confirmed that I was indeed getting slimmer, and someone here even revisited my 30 day pics to give me an extra boost. It's hard for us to notice subtle changes in ourselves, but others notice it.
You are doing great, by the way. I can definitely see changes in your waist and arms. Keep up the good work and the results will come. You may not get totally ripped in 90 days the way some people do, but you know what? If not, that's ok...do another round. Fitness is not a sprint, it's a marathon...slow and steady wins out every time. Good luck and keep bringing it!

Thanks for the words of support, everyone. It's exactly what I needed and it really helped. My workouts have been suffering because of discouragement, but I feel more determined now to really knock out the last phase.

Sum22, re: artificial sweetners: I've heard that to. I've also heard artificial sweeteners are bad because it tricks our brain into thinking we're getting sugar -- and when we don't actually get it we just crave it more (doesn't seem to a problem for me though). Yes I do have a packet of splenda a day in coffee, but I don't think it's what is holding me back from results I expected. I actually feel like it helps my goal because coffee replaces my after dinner desert craving.

re: snacks: All my food is pretty spread out. When I broke it down by morning, afternoon and night, it wasn't all that food at once three times a day. Instead it was what I eat throughout the course of a morning, afternoon, night.

I'm not measuring proportions but I am conscious of them.
Cereal excepted - I'm probably having too much there...2 cups cereal, 1.25 cups milk. I think it's okay in the morning because it's my breakfast, but I should probably cut back at night.


re: fat & height:
I'm 5'5". And I agree, I'm not fat. I've never been fat. I just really wanted to push my body, to see if I was capable of having an "athletes" body. To get a really tight stomach. That kind of thing. I've worked out in the past but never in such a structured and dedicated way -- and with all the promotion with p90x I was just expecting more than I'm seeing. It seems like a program targeted towards people who are already in relatively good shape and want to see amazing results.

But I agree with what Sum22 said... I may be at the lowest weight I can reach. I'm certainly not going to starve myself to cut all body fat -- maybe this is just my body's equilibrium?


Thanks makingofme and runningjunkie for the the support. It's needed support.

Despite my discouragement, I am seeing results. My legs are looking really tone, my arm muscles are growing, and my stomach does feel smaller than when I started. It's not the the extent I expected, but it's still good results.

About to come up on day 60, will be posting updated pics soon!

After taking a look at your sample menu for the day, I would recommend you take in more protein. Since you are not "fat", it's not about weight. Instead, its about BF. You can attack body fat percentages two ways.

1. Lose fat
2. Increase lean body weight (i.e. muscle)

So it looks like you have the calorie intake low enough, now you need to add protein so that you can provide your muscles with the nutrition it needs.

The "extreme" P90X workouts, especially the resistance workouts, are placing "extreme" requirements on your muscles. If you don't take care of them nutrition-wise, you can actually lose lean body weight. Once that happens you may actually increase BF percentage.

So anyway, its not all about weight loss. Especially in your case. You have a good base from which to work. If you lift hard and feed the muscle you will get the results you want.

Thanks for the tips boomer. I started replacing my nightly cereal snack with egg white scrambler or when I can stomach it, a protein shake (sure am sick of these).

Updated photos with day 60 - Click to enlarge!




Starting to see some good improvements and definition - still wish my stomach was moving as quickly as my arms / shoulders, but I'll keep plugging away.

It might not be a 6 pack but your mid section is MUCH improved! This program is hard for women. It is way harder to cut body fat to get those abs muscles to show. Still, you are getting good results even if they aren't quite what you expected.

Stick with it girl, I can see a big difference in your stomach and arms but can also see an improvement in your posture. Good job

You must be kidding...your day 60 has lots of changes..much definition.